Politics, Science, and Religion.
And sometimes intersections among them

Monday, October 22, 2012

Obama Deserves Your Vote

Despite all the political noise to the contrary, Obama is doing quite well with the economy. It is recovering just as well as other recoveries from depressions of equal severity. Remember, nothing in his policies caused the bad economy. Others whine that saying that is just blaming the other guy. But what sort of responsibility does it show when your policies produce the worst economic downturn since the 30’s and you completely ignored it? I just hate to think of what could happen if they get another chance.

Please take a look at what has really been accomplished despite fierce, unreasoned opposition. The right to equal pay for equal work was strengthened. The auto industry was saved from collapse (at a handy 3000% profit for certain venture capitalists including Ann and Mitt). The explosion of health care costs has begun to see a limit. Students have less predatory student loans. The Iraq war is over. The war in Afghanistan will soon be over. Seventy percent of the Simpson-Bowle spending cuts have been made. Homosexual military people no longer have to remain closeted and fear reprisals. Children who only know this country as home can continue to serve, learn, and contribute without fear of being deported. Insurance companies must accept patients with pre-existing conditions and they can’t deny coverage for contraception should any woman wish to have it.

Then compare that to what is being offered on the other side. Medicare is to be defunded. Most, if not all, of the benefits of the health care reform will go away. Tax breaks are promised to those who need them least at the expense of those who need them most. The goals of the budget cannot be achieved mathematically. The man at the top of the ticket seems to change his position every time he talks to a different group of people. In private, he says things that are simply appalling while glossing over them in public. The economic supply-side theory of economics has proven to be a failure. If you don’t like this depression, you really aren’t going to like the Romney one.

When you look at the case against Obama, it’s clear that it is driven by unreasonable antipathy and, often, patent delusion. Obama actually is a natural-born American citizen. He isn’t Muslim (but it isn’t against the law if he were). The ACA is insurance regulation based on Republican ideas. It isn’t socialized medicine nor is it death panels. Why are the people who say these kinds of things even listened to by anyone?

My complaint with Obama is that he has been not given the chance to do more. There is a budget that needs to be balanced with real arithmetic. There are tools available to improve the economy in ways that benefit everyone from the middle, not just trickle-down from the top.

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